Karis Selk, 7, sits in front of the den of the Topeka Zoo's three tiger cuts. Selk, who is in remission from brain cancer, got to name the first cub, who would have died without zoo staff assistance. She chose Raza, or hope.

Karis Selk, 7, sits in front of the den of the Topeka Zoo's three tiger cuts. Selk, who is in remission from brain cancer, got to name the first cub, who would have died without zoo staff assistance. She chose Raza, or hope.

It is what has guided the Selk family through their young daughter’s yearlong battle with brain cancer.

Hope, and boundless optimism, are what drive the now 7-year-old Karis, who went into remission last October.

It is what tells her mother the new spots the doctors found on a recent MRI are nothing to worry about.

And hope — or, rather, its Arabic equivalent, Raza — is the name of one of Topeka’s three new tiger cubs.

Karis picked Raza from among several choices for one sweet reason: She wants Raza and all her sisters to have hope that “they will have families when they grow up,” she said, shyly.

She picked the name after she found out the World Wildlife Fund lists Sumatran tigers as critically endangered, her mother, Stephanie Selk, said. Fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers exist today, according to WWF estimates.

Karis on Wednesday got to get up close and personal with the three cubs before she had the distinct and unique honor of naming Cub 1.

And she was dressed for the occasion. From her flowing white dress, which she borrowed from her big sister, Emerson, and beautiful jewelry to her smooth blonde hair that was spun into curls and set with pearls — Karis looked like a princess.

“She wanted to be all fancy to meet the tigers,” Stephanie Selk said.

Unless you looked closely, you couldn’t tell her updo was a wig.

Karis was diagnosed with brain cancer in the fall of 2012, when she was just 5 years old. After two brain surgeries, eight rounds of chemotherapy and 30 radiation treatments, she was deemed last October to be in remission.

“Right now, she’s cancer free and just having fun,” Selk said. “She’s been through a lot.”

Doctors recently have found spots on MRIs. Her next round of tests aren’t until the end of August, but Selk said, Karis isn’t worried about them.

“She says it’s not cancer,” she said. “But if it is, Karis says she’s just going to have to fight it again.”

Cub 1 — now Raza — is a fighter, too. Without supplemental feeding and attention from the zoo staff, she wouldn’t have made it. Now, she is the biggest of the three siblings.

So when it came time to decide who should name her, Karis was a natural choice, said zoo director Brendan Wiley.

“They’re both fighters,” he said.

When Wiley called the Selk household to offer Karis the chance to name the fighter cub, Selk said, Karis couldn’t speak.

“She was about ready to cry, she was so excited,” Selk said. Karis nodded in agreement.

Naming a tiger cub was an inspirational experience, to Karis and the rest of the family, Selk said.

“It shows she gets to enjoy the beautiful things in life and what it means,” she said. “It inspires her to face each day and whatever happens.”

As souvenirs, Karis received a tiger paw print and a picture of Raza.

True to her relaxing nature, Raza snoozed in the corner of the wooden den while Karis and her 3-year-old sister Braylin joined two zookeepers inside their fenced-in home.

Karis didn’t get as close to the cub as she would have liked — Sassy Cub 3 hissed as the ensemble approached. She will be named through a public poll, which is available online — topeka.mindmixer.com — or in person at the Topeka Zoo’s Leopard Spot Gift Shop.

The naming rights to playful Cub 2 will be sold at an upcoming community auction to benefit Sumatran tiger preservation efforts.

The three tiger cubs were born on May 4 to Topeka’s Sumatran tigers Jingga and Rojo. Their debut is scheduled for the first week in August.

For more information about Karis’s journey, visit the “Hope for Karis” Facebook page.

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